About Exit International Founded in 1996 by Dr Philip Nitschke, Exit International is Australia’s largest voluntary euthanasia advocacy and information organisation. With our administrative office in Darwin and a shop-front office in Doncaster in Melbourne, Exit brings a dual focus on legislative change and practical information. More information about Exit International can be found at: www.exitinternational.net Phone 1300 10 3948 (EXIT) NZ Tel 09 889 0964 [email protected] About the Author Elaine Arch-Rowe is the National Chapter Coordinator of Exit International. Prior to joining Exit, Elaine enjoyed a successful career in sales. Elaine lives on the Gold Coast in Queensland and operates one of the most active and popular local Exit chapters in the country, regularly hosting meetings of up to 100 members. To the many campaigners who won’t give up the fight to achieve legislation for any person who has expressed a wish for a painless and dignified death because they are suffering, through illness or disability, severe pain or distress and with no remedy available. Exit International Published by Exit International PO Box 37781 Darwin NT 0821 Australia [email protected] I BEQUEATH THE PYTHON 2007 Copyright © Elaine Arch-Rowe & Fiona Stewart 2007 The moral right of the authors has been asserted. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced to a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and publisher of this book. First published by Exit International 2007 Cover design & illustrations by Gordon Bell Copyright © Gordon Bell Printed by Webb & Son printers, Adelaide Australia ISBN: 978-0-9803256-1-4 www.exitinternational.net OTHER PUBLICATIONS FROM EXIT INTERNATIONAL The Peaceful Pill Handbook New International edition (banned in Australia Feb 2007, available at Amazon.com) by Dr Philip Nitschke & Dr Fiona Stewart (Exit International US Ltd 2007) www.peacefulpill.com “Dr Philip Nitschke is a tireless fighter for human rights” Neal Nicol, author, Between the Dying and the Dead Dr Jack Kevorkian’s Life and the Battle to Legalise Euthanasia & Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia & the Road to the Peaceful Pill (Penguin, 2005 - available at all good bookshops) By Dr Philip Nitschke & Dr Fiona Stewart www.exitinternational.net “The publication of this book will probably prove to be a landmark in the history of the reform of … unenlightened laws” - Canberra Times Her birth was completely unexpected Her life was mostly uneventful BUT her death was exceptionally well-organized Tell Us What You Think! As the reader, you are our most important critic. We value your opinion and would like to know how useful this document is to you and if you’d recommend it to your friends. Email: [email protected] (please write “Python” in subject line) Mail: Elaine Arch-Rowe Exit International PO Box 37781 Darwin NT 0821 AUSTRALIA Ph 1300 10 3948 (EXIT) Fax 02 8905 9249 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 8 THE STARTING POINT 11 YOUR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 13 YOUR EXECUTOR & WELCOME TO THE COMPUTER AGE 15 ENDURING POWER OF ATTORNEY 17 LIVING WILLS 19 CHECKLIST 20 MORE CHECKLIST 21 WHO GETS WHAT 23 PREPARING FOR THE BIG DAY 24 MORE PREPARATION 25 AND THERE’S MORE 27 YOU COULD DONATE YOUR BODY 29 ONE LAST TASK 31 A LITTLE FAMILIY HISTORY 32 MORE HISTORY 33 THIS WAS MY LIFE … 34 PYTHON (RE)ORDER FORM 37 INTRODUCTION Me to daughter: “My old pals are getting older and some are dying.” Daughter’s reply: “They’re not the only ones - you’re getting past it too.” With brain turning, I thought “If I die tomorrow – who gets what?” So I started to ask my old pals: “If you die tomorrow – who gets what?” Most of them had made out a will but few of them had made plans for anything else. When one asked me: “What else do I need?” A plan started buzzing around in my head. I present you with “I bequeath the python to …” – your ultimate end of life management guide.’ HAVE FUN! Elaine Arch-Rowe Gold Coast, Australia April 2007 9 LAST WISHES An elderly woman from Palm Beach decided to prepare her will and make her final requests. She told her vicar she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Myers. "Myers” the vicar exclaimed! "Why Myers?" "Then I'll be sure my daughters will visit me twice a week” she said. 10 I --------------------------------- have made the decision to gather together all the information and documents that will be needed after my death. I do this so the people who look after my affairs will have an easier task once I’ve gone. **************** THE STARTING POINT There are THREE very important documents you need to consider. The first one is a Will (Page 13). The second is an Enduring Power of Attorney – for both financial and/or medical matters. (Page 17). Who will be the person/persons who makes/make the decisions for you when you can’t make them for yourself? And the third is the Living Will or Advance Health Directive (page 19) - the document you prepare at this time and which only comes into effect when you are unable to communicate for yourself. To my way of thinking all three are necessary – but you need to look at them separately and decide how each one will affect YOU personally. Sure, your Will is a very important document but do have a good think about the other two. After you’ve filled out one, two and three, store them in one place along with other important documents such as: birth, marriage and death certificates, divorce decrees, adoption papers, passports, citizenship papers, military service records and tax details. Next, have a good look at the CHECKLIST on pages 20 and 21. I bet there’ll be items on that list you haven’t even considered. From personal experience (having had to look after a friend’s end-of-life affairs) - I can definitely recommend it. Notes: (jot ideas down as you go) 11 12 YOUR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT (this is the ‘MUST HAVE’ document) You only need to update your will when circumstances change – eg. loss of a spouse, fall out with family or to prove to certain people that you haven’t yet lost your marbles. • Perhaps one of your children hasn’t bothered to contact you for a while; • If there is someone out there who is expecting a hand-out from you and ain’t gonna get it, write a note explaining why they have been overlooked and keep this with your will. THIS LETTER MUST BE WRITTEN AND DATED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE WILL. In fact, why not send the non-beneficiaries a copy of the note? That way they can ask you, while you’re still alive, the reason you’re being so mean. It also saves the nice beneficiaries from major headaches, plus expensive delays, waiting for settlement. PLEASE, PLEASE ensure that the originals of ALL your documents are kept in a safe place and that they can be easily found. Some folk like to make multiple copies and leave them with different people. If a document cannot be found, it may be incorrectly presumed that you never prepared it or that you destroyed it. MY DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND:……………………………………………………….…………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… OTHER COPIES OF MY DOCUMENTS ARE WITH: Name: Address: Phone and email: Name: Address: Phone and email: Name: Address: Phone and email: 13 THE LAST WILL OF JOHN MIDAS The lawyer was reading out the Will of tycoon John Midas to those mentioned in the Will: "To my loving wife Helen Louise, who stood by me in the rough times as well as the good, I leave the house and $2 million. "To my daughter Tonya, who looked after me in illness and kept the business going, I leave the yacht, the business, and $1 million. " To my nephew Simon, I leave my 2 Jaguars, and my weekender in the Whitsundays. "And to my cousin Morris, who hated me, argued with me and who thought I would not remember him in my Will - you were wrong again Morris! So "Hello Morris !" 14 YOUR EXECUTOR If you choose a solicitor as an executor, ask what costs will be involved. Solicitors tend to use gobbledegook language in Wills. There is no reason you can’t ask them to write your Will in layman terms. Choose for your executor, a person who thinks like you and understands your wishes. The Public Trust office has information on the duties of an executor. Aye, sure ye’re my kin and once ye were in ye thought ye’d be rich but my Will left ye nix WELCOME TO THE COMPUTER AGE So – why not choose a solicitor who offers you a copy of your Will on CD and then, if you have your own computer, you can update the CD yourself. Remember any updates need to be re-signed and witnessed in the usual way. Ask your solicitor about approximate costs for future updates. 15 RABID DOG My neighbour was bitten by a stray rabid dog. I went to see how he was and found him writing frantically on a piece of paper. I told him rabies could be treated, and he didn't have to worry about a will. He said, "Will? What Will? I'm making a list of the people I want to bite." 16 ENDURING POWER OF ATTORNEY What is an Enduring Power of Attorney? An Enduring Power of Attorney is a person who can make ‘financial and/ or personal/ health’ decisions for you when you can’t make these decisions for yourself.